A group called Time’s Up Healthcare will aim to resolve issues related to harassment and discrimination that workers in California and elsewhere may face. It will try to accomplish this goal in part by seeking greater gender balance among health care leadership. This group is similar to the Time’s Up movement that was inspired by the #MeToo movement that played a role in bringing awareness to gender issues in Hollywood.
The Time’s Up organization raised more than $20 million in 2018 through the site GoFundMe, which was more than any other organization during that time. According to Time’s Up, health care workers were the next largest group of individuals who sought legal help from them. Although women make up about 80 percent of the workforce in the industry, they hold only about 10 percent of top leadership positions. One survey found that many women in the medical profession who had experienced sexual harassment did not report it.
The group also found that 58 percent of woman surgeons surveyed had experienced harassment in the previous 12 months. Only 25 percent of male surgeons said that they had experienced such harassment. This was because they feared being retaliated against for doing so. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that there are more than 13 million people who hold jobs within the health care industry.
If a person has lost a job or faced other retaliation based on his or her gender, he or she may be a victim of sexual harassment. Individuals may also be victims of harassment if they hear jokes or other comments about their appearance or lifestyle choices. Evidence of harassment may include statements from a supervisor or text messages sent by a colleague. An attorney may help someone obtain a favorable resolution in a workplace harassment case.